Anand: Don’t write me off yet

Don’t write me off yet, says determined Anand
Tushar Dutt, TNN | Dec 23, 2014, 08.40 AM IST

PUNE: Viswanathan Anand is not fond of soccer-like scoring system despite winning the London chess classic in that format last week. “I feel it is better to have half a point for a hard-fought draw than having three points for a lucky win,” said the five-time World champion on the backdrop of a NIIT Nguru MathLab Impact Study programme at five-star hotel here on Monday.

“I have won the Bilbao Final Masters in the soccer-like format only, but I am not a fan of it. “I think the original one-point-for-a-win format keeps the balance of the game intact.”

Anand is relieved that the next World Championship match is scheduled in 2016 and not next year.

“The annual thing was silly. There was no reason for it to be that way (back to back). We have always had a two-year cycle, which is better,” he said.

Anand played Boris Gelfand at Moscow in 2012 and lost to Magnus Carlsen last year in Chennai and this year in Sochi. A tournament (Candidates meet) to find a challenger to Carlsen in expected to be held in early 2016. And considering Anand’s remarkable consistency and experience, he will be a force to reckon with. His win in London in an elite field just suggests that.

“Don’t write me off yet,” said the 45-year-old. “I have got back the hunger and drive for chess which I felt I was missing whole of last year and look forward to participating in events in 2015.”

The World No. 6 said he will play the cerebral 64-square game till he wishes to. But he doesn’t think he can emulate Russian Grandmaster Viktor Korchnoi’s feat of playing till his late 70s.

“It was a different era. That seems very unlikely to me because the nature of chess has changed a lot. It is impressive the way Korchnoi has played and I will keep that in mind, but I generally think two-three years ahead, not that far.”

Anand doesn’t like to live in the past either. “I took the Sochi match against Carlsen as a challenge. I created a lot more chances this time (than in Chennai). Having said that, I was unsuccessful but I don’t want to ponder about it.

“I don’t revisit the match often as I don’t see a point. It happened, it’s over and now it is behind me. Unless I win the next candidates, there is no point taking it up. So my focus will be the candidates.”